Media Releases

Animal Cruelty Complaint Filed After Ottawa Livestock Auction Workers Filmed Kicking Sleeping Newborn Calves

OTTAWA—National animal law organization Animal Justice has filed animal cruelty complaints with the Ontario Society for the Protection of Animals and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency after a witness saw workers kicking sleeping calves with heavy boots at Ottawa Livestock Auction in Greely, Ontario.

According to witness Linda Petras: “The calves were all cuddled together, napping. One of the workers walked over to the first one and wound his leg all the way back to kick to the calf’s ribs. The calf struggled to get up while the worker again kicked the calf two more times before it was able to get to its feet. That’s when I started filming.”

Anna Pippus, lawyer and director of farmed animal advocacy for Animal Justice, said: “In our experience, it is extremely common for livestock auction personnel to handle animals violently to force them to move. However, under no circumstances is it either morally acceptable or legal to kick resting newborn animals.”

On dairy farms, cows are impregnated to induce lactation, but the resulting babies are considered byproducts. The male babies are commonly sold for meat at livestock auctions. They can be as young as one day old and often still have their umbilical cords.

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The complaint can be downloaded here.

The video can be seen here.

For more information, contact:

Anna Pippus
Director of Farmed Animal Advocacy
[email protected]

Photo: Jo-Anne McArthur / Animal Equality